Music
by HTApprovedChick
Summary: Haruhi arrives at the Third Music Room early one afternoon to the sound of music. But who is the musician? KyoHaru Fluff. *UPDATE* NOW ILLUSTRATED!


Music

An Ouran High School Host Club Fan Fic

This is my first complete fanfic - it's a oneshot, HaruhixKyoya fluff. Please enjoy, or if you don't like that pairing, give it a try anyway. You may like it, and I may write another with some other pairing. Please review! I would love to know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own OHSHC, or any of the characters in it. Bisco Hatori does. I simply borrowed them for a story that is only meant to entertain. I also do not own the songs that I reference in the following story. I quote them here with their original composers. Please enjoy, but do not copy or sue. :-D

Songs referenced:

Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G, Prelude - J.S.Bach

String Quintet in C major, Op. 30, No. 6 - L. Boccherini

By HTApprovedChick

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Music

Haruhi could hear the soft sounds of music drifting from the Host Club's Third Music Room. Even thought the room was rarely used as its name implied, occasionally Tamaki would play the piano that sat in the far back corner at the request of one of his guests. However, this was not a piano. The music was deep and soft, and Haruhi opened the door quietly, not wanting to disturb whoever was playing. She assumed that it was probably a musician hired by the club to entertain the guests that day. So she was very surprised when she peeked through the door and saw no one at all. She was early, earlier than usual, and assumed that she had gotten there while the musician was warming up for the afternoon.

Normally, she would have thought about how only a group of rich bastards would have the means to hire a musician for the express purpose of playing in the background for a group of simpering high school girls. But this music was beautiful, and she was transported by it. She entered the room silently and looked around for the source of this deep, throaty music, and saw someone sitting by the tall windows, half-hidden in the glare of the slanting light of the afternoon. A young man was seated in a chair with a cello on the floor in front of him, braced between his knees as he swept the bow back and forth across the strings. He was apparently a student - Haruhi could see a black book bag on the sofa nearest to him, and one of the blue Ouran coats draped over the back of the same sofa. The young man had his sleeves rolled up, and Haruhi could see a bare fluttering of the muscles in his lower arms as he coaxed the sound out of the beautiful deep red cello. Not wanting to startle him and stop the beautiful music, Haruhi sank onto one of the sofas and watched from the other side of the room.

The man's face was turned away from her, his full concentration focused on the instrument. The long fingers of his left hand danced up and down the neck of the cello as his right arm carved shapes in the air with his bow. The sound from the cello was deep and slightly mournful, but as the song continued on, there were crescendos of hope and grace. The music spoke of something timeless and grand, yet fragile at the same time. The man was thoroughly absorbed in his playing, and his body swayed gently as he moved with the cello, caught up in the sound. His black hair fell over his eyes as Haruhi watched him, breathless. She had never heard anyone play like this, not even Tamaki. There was a gentle note of passion in this music, as well as a barely registered hint of despair. The music was both uplifting and sweetly sad, and as the music wound up into its final crescendo, she was left with an image of lovers parting, with only the hope and promise of seeing each other once again, but not the guarantee.

The cellist allowed his bow to hang in the air for a brief moment as the final sound reverberated from the cello. Haruhi realized that she had been holding her breath, and let it out with a soft sigh. The young man across the room heard it, and looked up quickly, the light from the window behind him flashing off his rimless glasses.

Kyoya.

Haruhi was stunned. She had not known that Kyoya could play anything at all - and the very idea of the serious, cool Vice-President playing something with such passion was almost beyond her grasp. She and Kyoya stared at each other for a long moment, each unsure of what to say.

"... I didn't hear you come in," he said finally.

Haruhi snapped out of her daze, "I'm so sorry to bother you, senpai. I... I didn't mean to intrude. I didn't know it was you..." She was stammering, still stunned. "I just heard the music from outside the door and it was so beautiful... I had no idea... I just wanted to... listen..." she finished lamely. She jumped up and made to leave, a blush growing on her face. "I'm sorry, I'll go..."

"No, wait..." Kyoya stood up, the bow still in his right hand, and neck of the cello in his left. "You don't have to go. I just didn't know you were here. I don't mind if you listen." He moved the bow into his left hand and held his right hand out to her. "Please stay, Haruhi."

If Haruhi had been stunned before, she was shocked now. Kyoya had never spoken to her with that tone in his voice. It wasn't identifiable, but she could tell that he really did want her to stay. Unsure of what to do, she turned back and walked towards him, and sat on the couch nearest him, a few yards from where he was still standing with his hand extended to her. He lowered his hand as she sat, and he stood, considering her for a moment before sitting down himself. He turned his chair to face her and laid the cello back in its playing position between his knees. He did not make to play again, though. It was simply habit when he was holding the instrument, and he did not take his eyes off of Haruhi.

She started to grow vaguely uncomfortable under his steel-gray gaze. The silence was growing heavy, so she broke it.

"I didn't know you played, Kyoya-senpai."

"So I see."

"Why haven't you mentioned it?"

"I don't usually talk about it." He lowered his eyes to the cello.

"Why not?"

He shrugged. "No one asked. Besides, Tamaki is the musician, not me."

Haruhi was confused. This was not a side of Kyoya that she had ever expected to exist. There was a tone of... she still couldn't place it. She decided to let it go and talk about the music.

"It was lovely, senpai. How long have you been playing?"

"Years," he said simply. "Since I was a child. My brothers, sister, and I all played different stringed instruments, and together we used to play as a quartet at family gatherings."

Haruhi had never heard Kyoya talk about his family. "Played? You mean they don't play anymore?"

"No. At least not that I know of. We stopped playing together when they went to university." Kyoya was still apparently interested in the shadows on the floor.

"You play beautifully without them." Kyoya lifted his head, and Haruhi thought she saw a flash of surprise in his eyes. No... it must have been a trick of the light. She continued, "I've never heard music like that before, senpai. What is it called?"

"Prelude from Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G... by Bach..." There was a subtle emphasis on the word "solo", as though to make the point that it was not only alone, but independent. And suddenly Haruhi had a revelation. Kyoya Ootori, the Shadow King himself, was lonely.

"It was lovely." Haruhi felt that she was repeating herself, but she could honestly think of nothing better to describe it. Casting about for something to say, since Kyoya still seemed like he wasn't going to speak except to answer her questions, she said "Solo cello, huh. I think that it was perfect by itself. But you miss playing with your siblings, just the same, don't you."

It was Kyoya's turn to look stunned. He was silent for a moment, then said "What makes you say that?"

"Something in your voice. And you never speak of your family, except when you mention your brothers being groomed for succession." Kyoya began studying the shadows again, and absently tapping the strings with his fingers, causing very soft humming thumps. She continued. "And I know how hard you are working to prove yourself to your father. It must be lonely not to still do something with your siblings, especially now that your father is favoring them over you. And your sister is married and gone away, isn't she?" Haruhi was being very blunt, as she usually was in moments of great revelation.

Kyoya continued staring at the floor. He was silently cursing Haruhi for her insight, as he had barely realized this himself, but now that she said it out loud, it made perfect sense. Caught off guard by this, he did not restrain himself from speaking.

"It was strange, learning to play alone. I was used to playing pieces in accompaniment to them, or in support of their pieces. I had never really needed to learn to play anything alone. When my oldest brother left for university, it was difficult for any of us to play anymore, because he had played first violin in our quartet. My sister used to play with me, but there's not much music for a viola and a cello, but then she and my other brother went to college, too. I tried painting for a while, but it wasn't the same. I missed the cello," he plucked some strings experimentally, and went on. "So I picked it back up. But my father said that I should do more things on my own, be more self-reliant, to prove myself. So I practice on my own, now." He paused, and looked up at Haruhi again, the reflection off his glasses shielding his eyes from her. "No one has heard me play in a long time," and his voice broke as he looked back down at the cello.

Haruhi had listened to this all very calmly, surprised that Kyoya was opening up to her, and when his voice cracked, she felt as though she might cry. She stood up and closed the distance between them, and placed her hand on his shoulder. Kyoya stiffened at her touch, but continued looking at the floor.

"Please senpai... Kyoya... don't be sad. You play so beautifully, and if you were to let the others know that you still play, or if you told Tamaki, I'm sure he would be happy to play with you..."

Kyoya snorted. "If Tamaki knew I played I would never hear the end of it."

"Then... just play for me."

Kyoya looked up at her and blinked. His face looked softer, somehow, in the afternoon light. His glasses had slipped down his nose, but he made no move to straighten them as usual.

"Play for you?"

"Yes, please, senpai. I loved hearing you play just now, and even though I can't play with you, I could keep you company when you play. I won't tell anyone if you want to keep it a secret, but at least you wouldn't have to be alone..." Haruhi stopped, unsure if she had said the wrong thing.

Kyoya seemed to consider her over the top of his glasses for a moment, and she stood there, her hand still on his shoulder as she answered his stare. Haruhi felt suddenly as if she was invading his space, so she lifted her hand and made to take a step back. Kyoya's hand darted up and caught her wrist before she could step away, and he held her hand tightly. Haruhi's first instinct was to pull away, but she resisted and instead stayed where she was. Having Kyoya look at her like that was very unsettling. His eyes seemed to look into her, through her, as though he was searching for something. After a moment he squeezed her hand, then released it.

"Have a seat."

Haruhi lingered for a moment next to him, then backed up and sat back down on the sofa. She didn't look away from his eyes, and he didn't look away from hers. He transferred the bow back to his right hand, and then closed his eyes for a moment, tapping the strings of the cello with his left hand and with the flat of the bow, producing little hums and notes as he thought of something to play for his new audience.

"This piece is actually meant for a quintet, but we learned how to play it ourselves, and I supposed I could play it without them, too." Then he held the bow between the smaller fingers of his right hand as he began to strum the cello in an upbeat kind of way. He held the strings down at the very base of the next, making the strum sound in a higher pitch than normal. He plucked a few strings in quick succession, then strummed along, building a rhythm which he joined with his heel, tapping out a beat as he then suddenly stopped strumming and flicked the bow back into its normal stance. This piece had none of the sweet melancholy of the last piece, and was instead very hopeful, very graceful, almost fluid in its sound. It spoke of a happy meeting, a graceful dance between the two lovers who had not fully expected to see each other again. Kyoya switched back and forth between the lower half, the part obviously meant for the cello, and the faster, fiercer part that was apparently meant for a violin. The cello sounded smooth and round, strong and unwavering, there to support the higher pitched violin half, which he played on his cello all the same. The emotions of joy and of meeting were clear to Haruhi in the music, and as Kyoya started to sway with his music, Haruhi did, too. She was transfixed by the grace and speed with which he played, the precise movements that she knew of Kyoya, but at the same time totally foreign in their beauty. It was as if she was seeing him, truly seeing him, for the first time in his music. The piece was short, but as Kyoya brought the piece to a close in a fast, joyful crescendo, Haruhi was perched on the edge of her seat, her heart following every note.

There was nothing but the hum of the final note hanging in the air, and neither of them moved, allowing it to dissipate totally. When it was finished, Kyoya lifted his head to look at her again, and Haruhi knew. He had said to her with music what he wasn't sure he wanted to say in words, just in case. She absorbed this new information for a moment, considering it in her heart, and then suddenly realized that since she couldn't answer with music, she was going to have to think of something else. This time when she stood up, Kyoya stood up too. His eyes never left hers as she crossed the floor to where he stood. She walked right up to him, lifting her chin as he lowered his, so they could hold their gaze in spite of their height difference. Kyoya was still holding his cello and bow, so Haruhi walked right into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her nose in his shirt. Kyoya caught his breath, then, twisting in her arms, he set down the bow and leaned the cello again the chair he had been sitting in. He place one arm around her and with the other, he stroked her hair as he kissed her forehead.

"Thank you," he murmured.

Haruhi turned her face up to his and stood up on her tiptoes, her eyes half closed, and Kyoya leaned down the rest of the way to meet her kiss. And although Haruhi had just thought that Kyoya's music was the most beautiful thing in the world, she quickly changed her mind.

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Author's note: well, there it is - My very first fanfic. I hope you all enjoyed. Oh, my sister made an illustration for this story - its so shmexy :D Check it out! Just copy and paste the following address, then delete the spaces - http : / / melovedogboy . deviantart . com/ art/Cello-98154789


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